Dudley tops showbiz honours list

The diminutive Dudley Moore, 66, sometimes known as the "sex thimble", heads an array of show-business award winners, with a CBE in the overseas and diplomatic list.

Moore, who suffers from a degenerative brain problem, progressive supranuclear palsy, made his name in his "Dud and Pete" comedy partnership with the late Peter Cook.

Moore was a hit both in Britain and in the United States, starring in numerous Hollywood and British films. He is also a gifted and dedicated pianist who has performed concerts across America, as well as appearing in Royal Command performances.

A similar award goes to Googie Withers, 84, who now lives in Australia. She has been on the stage since 1932, and has starred in such screen classics as The Lady Vanishes and It Always Rains on Sunday, as well as appearing in numerous West End and TV productions.

Even in old age, Withers, who has been described as one of the most beautiful actresses of the 20th century, has continued to appear on the stage, including in recent productions of The Merry Wives of Windsor and Fanny Burney's A Busy Day.

An OBE goes to actress Pauline Collins, 60, who won an Oscar nomination for her role in Shirley Valentine, as the down-trodden Liverpudlian housewife who falls in love with a Greek waiter on holiday and decides not to return home. She also won a Tony Award as best actress for this role in a New York production.

Christopher Lee, 79, famous for his horror film roles, gets a CBE. Lee has often said he would prefer to be remembered for his non-horror roles than his performances in films like Night of the Blood Monster, but his friends say there is little chance of that happening.

An OBE in the diplomatic and overseas list goes to singer and actress Jane Birkin, once described as "a legend in her own t'aime".

She is famed for what has been called "the most infamous orgasmic moans in pop history" in her controversial duet with her long-term French lover, the late Serge Gainsbourg, called Je T'Aime (Moi Non Plus).

Her award is for services to acting and Anglo-French cultural relations.

A CBE goes to choreographer David Bintley, director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, one of the most adventurous and imaginative figures in the world of dance.

The award-winning actress and writer Eileen Atkins, already a CBE, becomes a Dame on her 67th birthday today. She has performed in her own plays including Vita and Virginia with Vanessa Redgrave, and has appeared on Broadway with Kathleen Turner in Les Parents Terribles.

She also co-wrote the TV hit series, Upstairs, Downstairs.

There is an MBE for Joan Armatrading, who was crowned Britain's first black female pop star when she burst on to the scene in the 1970s. She has never tried to follow trends and her hits have included Love and Affection, Drop the Pilot and Rosie. She has sung and written for Nelson Mandela.

Bert Weedon, 80, the veteran celebrated guitarist, gets an OBE. He has played for the Queen and the Pope but has always said that playing for the children of Barnardo's was the most rewarding.

His guitar manual, Play In a Day, has been acknowledged by virtually every top player from Eric Clapton to the Beatles and Sting.

There is a knighthood for TV veteran Bill Cotton, chairman of Meridian Broadcasting, "for services to TV broadcasting and to Marie Curie Cancer Care".

Cotton, the son of wartime bandleader Billy Cotton, had a long and distinguished career with the BBC, culminating in the managing directorship of BBC Television.

Songwriter and musicals man Leslie Bricusse gets an OBE in the diplomatic and overseas list. His main works include Stop The World - I Want To Get Off and Roar Of The Greasepaint.

Gerry Anderson, creator of the TV puppet series Thunderbirds, gets an MBE.